Titanic Auction Marks 100th Anniversary of Sinking

The sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912, will be commemorated in many locations around the world, but the auction of some 5,500 items that have been recovered from the sunken ship is unique. For one thing, the items are being offered as a single lot and cannot be separated, either by the seller or by the ultimate buyer.

A 2007 US court decision made it possible for the items to be sold, but that the collection must be kept together, it must be properly taken care of, and at least a portion of the collection must be available for public viewing. A court-ordered appraisal at the time valued the collection at $189 million.

The collection is being auctioned by Guernsey’s, a New York auctioneer and brokerage, that has also auctioned items from Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion and Princess Diana’s jewelry collection. Interested buyers can peruse Guernsey’s auction announcement here.